The present invention relates generally to the container art, and more particularly to a novel single-opening beer keg and method of producing it from a conventional keg.
As is well known in the draft beer keg art, there are various shapes and types of beer kegs, with several different types of dispensing openings in the top wall thereof, the two most widely used openings in the United States being the "Golden Gate" keg which as a 11/2 inch dispensing opening, and the "Peerless" keg, which has a 3/4 inch dispensing opening. Because of the different sizes and types of dispensing openings, it has been necessary to use a variety of different tapping units at the taverns or restaurants where the draft beer is being dispensed.
Also, for many years and up to the present time, substantially all commercial beer kegs have been filled with beer through an opening in the side wall, which opening is subsequently closed with a wooden bung or plug. This presents several problems. Thus, prior to washing and refilling the keg with beer, the old wooden plug or bung is removed with a special screw augar which cuts into the bung and pulls it out of the opening. However, often times the bung will split into pieces and such pieces and chips will fall into the keg, thereby requiring special efforts to remove the pieces and chips and a further inspection to make certain that all have been removed.
After a keg has been filled with beer by means of a filling rod which is inserted through the aforementioned bung hole, the hole is closed with a wooden plug or bung which is usually manually driven into place with a sledge hammer. If the first bung does not effectively close the opening, it is not uncommon to place a second bung on top of the first one, and to drive the first bung into the keg. There might be dirt and bacteria on the outer face of the first bung where the sledge hammer struck it, and this could contaminate the beer.
Obviously, the manual removal of a bung from an empty keg, with the accompanying inspection to make certain that all chips have been removed, the washing and draining of the keg, the turning of the keg and filling of it with beer, and the manual driving of a bung into the hole after the keg has been filled with beer . . . are very time consuming operations and materially add to the cost of a keg of beer.
Being familiar with the aforementioned problems, I invented a tapper unit which can be used with various types of conventional keg units, and also invented a universal valve system to be mounted in one wall of a keg, whereby the same opening can be used for washing the keg, filling it with beer, and then dispensing the beer therefrom. Such a universal valve system is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,182, the assembly being preferably mounted in the end wall of a keg.
Because it is preferable to use a relatively large opening with my universal valve system so as to greatly reduce the time for washing the keg and for filling it with beer, I first contemplated having new kegs made with generally the same type of bottom wall construction, but without a bung hole in the side wall and with a modified top wall construction with a relatively large opening for receiving the universal valve system, and also containing means for draining the wash fluid from the keg and through the opening during the washing operation.
However, there are millions of servicable beer kegs of conventional configuration in use in the United States at the present time, and it would require the expenditure of large sums of money by the breweries to purchase new kegs for use with my universal valve system. Also, the amount of material and the time required for producing all new kegs, might make a conversion to the one-hole, universal valve system difficult to accomplish within a reasonable period of time.
With the aforementioned difficulties in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel single-opening beer keg which is produced by modifying a conventional keg. More particularly, it is an object to provide a method for modifying beer kegs of conventional construction, to provide a keg which can be washed, filled with beer and the beer dispensed through a single opening contained in an end wall.
Another object is to provide a method of converting conventional beer kegs to provide an opening in an end wall thereof, whereby the keg can be washed, filled with beer and the beer dispensed through said opening. More particularly, it is an object to provide such a method whereby the end wall which was the bottom wall of the keg becomes the top wall thereof, with the chine and the trough in what was the bottom wall, providing the means in the top wall for draining the water from the keg during the washing operation.
Yet another object is to provide such a method of converting conventional kegs to single-opening kegs, which requires very little additional material and a relatively small amount of time for achieving such a conversion.
A further object is to provide a beer keg which can be washed, filled with beer, and the beer dispense therefrom . . . all through the same opening contained in an end wall . . . which keg is produced by converting a conventional beer keg, utilizing a small amount of additional material and which is accomplished in a relatively short period of time.
I have discovered that the foregoing objects and advantages are achieved by moving the center portion of the bottom wall of a conventional keg outwardly until the center portion is in substantial horizontal alignment with the end of the side wall, providing an opening in the center portion of the bottom wall for receiving a valve assembly, closing the normal dispensing opening in the top wall, and moving the center portion of the top wall inwardly to provide a substantially cylindrical portion with an inner peripheral chine.